The New York-based architecture firm of Palmer & Hornbostel came out in 1910 to design Oakland a replacement seat of government to replace its predecessor that was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. Completed in 1914, Oakland’s fifth City Hall was the first high-rise government building in the United States and the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Likened to a multi-layered wedding cake, the Beaux Arts structure is faced in white granite and terra cotta. The three-story bottom tier is where the mayor’s office and council chambers reside. A three-tiered, 36-cell jail and outdoor exercise yard for the inmates is located on the 12th floor, although it hasn’t been used since the 1960s. Poking out of the office tower is a 91-foot clock tower.
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